A Cotmanhay man who was about to end his life has been reunited with the Police Officer who saved him.
Darren Cox was led away from danger by a member from the Nottinghamshire Police Mental Health Team and now says that he has turned his life around to help others, but he said that he wasn't quite ready for a reunion.
He said: "It was very emotional - emotions just took over - not emotions like it was just under a year ago but happy emotions. I didn't know what to say to him, I didn't know what to expect when I got here. As soon as I saw him, I just broke down - I just wanted to thank him really". Darren previously said that he had previously tried to find the officer who saved him, Constable Jamie Severn, and that it had been like like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Greeting Darren on his arrival at Police HQ, Constable Severn said: "It is so nice of you to come and see me, and so nice to see a nice outcome". In reply, Darren said: "You don't know how much it means to me, because, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here for my children."
Speaking about the point when he took steps towards taking his own life, Darren said: "I was in a bit of a state where I just wanted to end my life. An incident happened and the officers came to my aid, and I was just literally banging my head, just getting the voices in there. If it wasn't for these officers calming me down, then I could have been seriously hurt or potentially not have been here."
Constable Severn said that it was rare that reunions happened in this way, describing how Darren had been found in that critical moment but also how Darren had subsequently described him as a hero: "[He was] Highly emotional, highly distressed. It's a team effort - I don't know whether I'd agree with the word 'hero'. I'm very pleased that it was a positive outcome. You do see some positive outcomes at times from people at the low ebb that he was last year. To see how is now - you can't beat it. This is why I do the job that I do now and probably why it is the most rewarding job I've ever had in the Police."
Darren has since turned his life around and helps others in similar situations. At the recent reunion, he presented a box of 'Heroes' chocolates as the officers had given him "hope for life"